Continued Education Improves Labor, Delivery and Postpartum Care [Rachelle Doudna]

I'm Rachelle Doudna, and I've been in Brookings the last five years. So I have two little girls. I have a three-year-old little girl who just started preschool and a three-month little girl who is just learning to smile.

How was your experience with Dr. Abele?

Dr. Abele was able to convey concern, which was kind of, you know, as the patient, that felt really good knowing, like, she's invested in my health and invested in the health of my baby. She made sure that I knew that she was listening to me intently and addressing my concerns, like, following up, like, with motion sickness, morning sickness, all of that.

Why did you decide to change your birth plan?

I was at the 38-week mark, and the option comes in that every doctor offers you for that 39th week, 40th week, to induce labor. And I was, like, "No, no, I'm going to have this happen naturally. It's gonna happen naturally." And it did not. It did not, and it did not. And I was so, so miserable. I was, like, "You know, at this point, I am experiencing enough pain to feel like I've gone into labor. Can we just, like, put me into labor, please?" And I came in, and she broke my water. And two hours later, I had a little girl.

How did the staff support you during labor?

They had a nurse come in and introduce herself and kind of give me an overview of, like, what they offer as far as options. And once my doctor had induced labor, she was really good about checking to see what position the baby was in and had been, like, taking classes and everything about ways to recommend me kind of adjusting the way I was having my contractions in order to get the baby to kind of realign. They weren't in breech position or anything, but she was sideways and so, like, facing the wrong way. And so the nurse was really great about telling me, like, "You know, if you get on all fours when you're having your contractions and stuff and try and breathe out, that can help get the baby to rotate." And so, by doing that, the baby actually rotated, and it made delivering her so much easier. So I was super grateful for her to, like, be coaching me through those contractions to help make my delivery easier.

How did the staff support your husband?

The nurse was really great about giving him directions. "If you can do this," you know, holding her hand helping, coach her through breathing, and just was super helpful towards him on how to help me rather than her being very direct towards me was one of the ways that...it helped my husband get to feel like he was more a part of this delivery than in the last one. And so that was super helpful. Like, he was actually on one side, and the nurse was on the other during my actual delivery. And so, for him to be able to be a part of that, you know, helping lift me back up after I've delivered because I'm so exhausted that I can't pick myself up, to, you know, change out bedding after delivering or anything like that was something that he really appreciated that he got to be a part of this time around.

How is your postpartum recovery?

Really great. I think part of why my postpartum has gone so well is, part of that kind of delivery during contractions, that nurse helping figure out how to get the baby to rotate so it's in the proper position to deliver, because I had no tearing happen this time where I did have stitches the first time. And the second time, because the nurse was able to help me get the baby in the right position, I was able to deliver easier, and it made my recovery easier and faster.

What did you appreciate most about your care?

In my first pregnancy, when I was here, staff were so, so helpful with my first child, and I just think that the way that they cared for her and the way that they kind of slowly increased my duties with her kind of helped ease that transition, right, of, like, going from no baby to having a baby. So that was kind of a nice way that they did that. And then the second pregnancy, once I had my child, they were a little more hands-off, but part of that was the recognition that I kind of knew what I was doing. And so, you know, making you feel confident, right, in that you're going to be a great parent to your children. So, yeah.

Why would you recommend Brookings Health System?

I would highly recommend it. The rooms are super comfortable for you, your family members. It's amazing. It really is amazing, the quality of care that you get here, because I had, like...I was somewhere over Christmas and had something happen that I needed to go to the emergency room for my child and me, and it was so drastically different. The equipment was old and dated, and it didn't make me feel confident that I was getting the best quality. And so it just made me appreciate even more when I was here, the quality of care that I got and the up-to-date facility as well.

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